Station-indicator.



-Nb.'761,124. PATENTED MAY 31, 1904.

- E. K. ADAMS.

STATION INDICATOR.

APPLIOATIOH FILED FEB. 16. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 N0 MODEL.

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No. 761,124. PATENTBD MAY 31, .1904. I El KI I STATION INDICATOR.APPLICATION nn]: H3 16. 1 9os.

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cm om z INVENTOR Arron/V's) UNITE STATES Patented May 31, 1904.

ERNEST K. ADAMS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,124, dated May 31,1904.

I Application filed February 16, 1903. Serial No. 143,530. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, ERNEST K. ADAMS, a citizen of the United States,residing in New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators,of which the following is a specification.

This present invention relates to an apparatus designed for displayingfrom time to time information of various sorts, such information beingconveniently exhibited on the surface of a flexible strip, belt, orcanvas.

The present improvements relate more particularly to an apparatus ofthis character suitable for use as a station-indicator or anapparatusfor acquainting railway-car passengers with the successive stationspassed by the train while en route.

Said improvements relate especially to such portions of an apparatus ofthe class specified as are furnished to be manipulated for setting orchanging the indications exhibited.

An object of my improvements is to furnish a simple and reliable meansfor operating station-indicators or other display apparatus of a kindrednature and to furnish supplemental indications to the operator thereof,whereby he may be constantly informed as to the matter displayed on theprimary indicator.

The means whereby the actuation of the primary indicator maybe effectedmay be located at either or both ends of a car and comprises orolinarilya supplemental indicator or device.

These features, together with various others comprised in the presentimprovements, are set forth in the drawings which accompany thepresent'specification, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section ofthe opposite ends of a car, illustrating the relation between a pair ofindicators proper,'one located adjacent to each end of the car, and thedevice accessible to the guard or conductor for bringing from" eitherend of the car successive indications on the indicators within into viewof the passengers. vational view from a point within the car of anindicator, illustrating the transmitting mechanism set forth in Fig. 1,and which mechanism is interposed between the indica- Fig. 2 is aneletor-actuator and the indicator'prope'r. Fig. 3 is a plan view, upon asomewhat larger scale than either of the preceding figures, illustratingthe hand-operable actuator or controller for effecting the step-by-stepshifting movement of the primary indicator. Fig. 4 is a sectional viewtaken on the plane of the line 77 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 illustrates amodified form of transmitting mechanism for operatively connecting thecontroller or actuator with the indicator proper.

Similar characters'of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

The present apparatus may be said. in a general way to comprise twoparts or devices, one ordinarily located within the car and in view ofthe passengers therein. This is the primary indicator, and by thesuccessive indications appearing thereon and brought in succession intoview serves to give timely warning to the passengers of the station ordepot next to be reached by the train. While under some circumstancesone such indicator located in a conspicuous part of the car may suffice,I will usually under conditions of service such that the car is to run(Without reversing end for end) in opposite directions suitably mount anindicator adjacent to each end 'of the car.

The other portion of the apparatus, and the one in which my improvementresides, is in the nature of an actuator for shifting the primaryindicator, thisactuator being located within convenient reach of theguard or conductor, and hence usually such actuator will beaccessiblefrom either one or the other of the car-platforms. In fact,each car may be supplied with an actuator at each end, and each actuatormay serve to shift both primary indicators. Suitable transmittingdevices are interposed between the movable elements of the primaryindicator or indicators proper and the actuator or actuators, and thelatter will, moreover, comprise ordinarily a supplemental indicator tomake known to the person operating the actuator'the particular stationindication appearing at each actuation upon the primary indicator orindicators within the car. Said device may be of vabe its constructionit will preferably comprise as a feature an indicating means sooperating as to make known to the guard, &c., the indication which hemay from time to time cause to be brought before the sight-opening ofthe primary indicator or indicators Within the car. In the form of suchmeans disclosed in the present drawings an actuator or controller isprovided intended for direct operation by the conductor or guard and themotion of which is transmitted through suitable transmitting mechanismto the shaft of the primary indicator. e

Referring now in detail to the construction of this illustrated actuatoror controller, it comprises a shaft 25, mounted in a casing 26and-provided with a crank-arm 27, carrying at its outer end afinger-piece 28 for handoperating the shaft. The shaft may be turned ineitherdirection by means. hereinbefore stated, and accordingly as it isturned in one direction or the other the primary indicator is operatedin a corresponding direction. It mayhere be premised that in theorganization of controller, transmitting mechanism, and primaryindicator disclosed a full rotation of the shaft 25 sufiices to impart afull rotation to shaft 20 of the primary indicator. Immediately at therear of the casing 26 of the controller is a gear-wheel 29, shiftable.about an axis coinciding with the axis of the shaft 25. Upon the outerradial face of this gear-wheel are disposed radially thereof indicationscorresponding in number to the indications to be displayed by theprimary indicator. In fact, the indications marked,

printed, or otherwise applied to the radial face of the gear 29 may beidentical with the indicationsto be so displayed. These indications uponthe gear-wheel are so disposed as to appear through an opening 30 in thefront plate of the casing 26, and for the purpose of causing thesequential order of the indications appearing through the opening 3 tocorrespond to the order ofthe indication-s appearing before thesight-opening of the primary indicator or indicators within the car(resulting, it is evident, from successive full turns of the shaft 25) adifferential-gear mechanism maybe employed. of herein disclosed a fixedgear 31, the plane of which is substantially parallel to the plane ofthe gear 29,is disposed in proximity thereto, gear 31 being rigidlysecured to'the casing 26 by meanssuch,for instance, as pins 32 passingthrough the hub of the fixed gear and into the boss of .the casing inwhich the shaft 25 is journaled. The number of teeth upon the shiftablegear 29 differs from the number of teeth upon the fixed gear 31, and thenumber of teeth which one gear possesses more than the other will dependupon the number of station indications borne by the indication-carrierof the indicating apparatus if the three hundred and sixty degrees ofradial face of In the form there-' the shiftable gear be divided into anequal number of angles and along the sides of these angles adjacentstations are marked, or in other words, if it is contemplated that theshiftable gear shall turn at each change of indication through that partof a full turn equal to three hundred and sixty degrees divided by' thenumber of stations. Thus if the capacity of both the main andsupplemental indicators be such as to provide forthe indicating offortynine stations the difference between the number of teeth of thegear-wheels 29 and 31 will be such that if the number of teeth in theshiftable gear be divided by the difference a quotient of forty-nine isobtained. Under the conditions assumed a convenient number of teeth forthe fixed gear 31 is one hundred teeth and for the shiftable gear 29ninetyeight teeth.

For causing the shifting of the shiftable gear the proper fraction of aturn at each full rotation of the shaft 25 an orbitally-movable pinion33, loosely mounted on a stud 330, extending from an arm 34, affixed tothe shaft 25, meshes with both the fixed and shiftable gears. As theshaft 25 is turned by the handcrank 27 the pinion 33 rotating about itsaxis serves to turn the shiftable gear (assuming the absolute number ofteeth in the gears to be such as specified) through a distance' equal totwo teeth, this distance being sufficient to shift the last-appearingindication away from the sight-opening in the casing 26 and bring thenext successive indication opposite-thereto. To assist the operator infixing the position of the arm or crank 27 corresponding to acompleterotation of the shaft 25, an opening 35 is made in the arm, and theorganization is such that this opening in the arm will register with theopening in the easing when a full rotation shall have been effected. v

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the direction inwhich the shiftable gear is turned is directly related to thedirectionin which the arm 27 is swung, or, in other words, the directionin which the shaft 25 is rotated. The present actuator or controllertherefore possesses the characteristic that the direction of rotation ofthe shaft 25 may be reversed by merely reversing the direction in whichthe arm 27 is moved. There is therefore no necessity in the presentconstruction and organization for interposing between the shaft 25' andthe shaft 20 of the primaryindicating apparatus in the car a reversingmechanism, for the direction in which said primary indicator is shifteddepends simply upon the direction in which the arm 27 is moved. If,therefore, while en route from one terminal to another a movement of thearm 27 in the direction of the arrow 00 is proper for producing a properorder in the appearance'of the station-indications, then amotion of thearm in the direction of the arrow ,1

cator is shown adjacent to each end of the car, while an actuator ismounted under each bonnet or hood 36 thereof, the primary indi-' catorbeing attached to a vertical partition or bulkhead 37, while theactuator is mounted upon the vertical side of the car. Atransmitting-rod 38 is mounted in suitable bearings, such as 39, andtransmits motion through respective pairs of bevel-wheels 4O 41 and 4248 from each actuator to the shaft 20 of the drive-pinion of the primaryindicator located nearest it. Either actuator is rendered effective tooperate the drive-pinion of the indicator at the farther end of the carthrough a shaft 44, having at each end a bevel-wheel 45, likewisemeshing with the bevel-wheel 43, attached to the shaft of the indicatordrivepinion thereat.

As another instance of an effective driving connection between theactuator and the primary indicator, and which may be preferred undersome conditions, Fig. 5 discloses a sprocket-and-chain connectioncomprising a chain 46, engaging with sprocket-wheels 47 and 48, theformer secured to the shaft 25 of the actuator and the latter to theshaft of the primary-indicator drive-pinion.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with anindication-car rier, of an actuator-shaft operatively connectedtherewith, a supplemental indication-carrier whose axis coincides withthe axis of the actuator-shaft, and a differential-gearmechanism forshifting the supplemental carrier.

2. The combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuatoroperatively connected therewith and comprising an actuator-shaft, afixed gear, a shiftable gear provided with opening.

indications, and whose axis coincides with the axis of theactuator-shaft, and an orbitallymovable rotatable gear for shifting theshiftalole gear to thereby bring indications into view.

3. The combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuatoroperatively connected therewith, and comprising an actuator-shaft, acrank for turning the shaft in either direction, a fixed gear, ashiftable gear provided with indications upon its radial face and whoseaxis coincides with the axis of the actuatorshaft, an arm secured tosaid shaft, and a gear rotatably mounted upon said arm and meshing withsaid fixed gear and said shiftable gear. v

4. The combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuatoroperatively connected therewith, an actuator-casing having asightopening, an actuator-shaft, a fixed gear, a shiftable gear providedwith indications visible through the said sight-opening and whose axiscoincides with the axis of the actuator-shaft, an arm attached to saidshaft, and a gear rotatable on said arm and meshing with said fixedandlsaid 'shiftable gearfor shifting indications on the shiftable gearinto position opposite the sight-opening in the actuatorcasing.

5. In an indicating apparatus, the combination with anindication-carrier, of an actuator operatively connected therewith, anactuatorcasing provided with a sight-opening, an actuator-shaft, a fixedgear, a shiftable gear provided with indications visible through thesaid sight-opening and whose axis coincides with the axis of theactuator-shaft, an arm attached to the actuator-shaft, a gear rotatablymounted on said arm and engaging with said fixed gear and said shiftablegear, and a crank-arm for operating said shaft and provided with anopening adapted to register with the sightopening in the actuator-casingwhen an indication has been brought opposite such sight- Signed at Nos.9 to 15 Murray street, New York, N. Y., this 13th day of February, 1903.

ERNEST K. ADAMS. Witnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, PIERSON L. WELLS.

